


And I Never Minded Being On My Own

by Stregatrek



Series: Wish That You Were Here [1]
Category: MASH (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Drinking, Canon-Typical Violence, Donna Comes to Town, F/M, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Pan!Donna, That's what the teen and up rating is for lads, a little subtle Margaret and Charles lesbian/ace solidarity, ace!charles, it's written like an episode, not that that gets screentime here it's just how I FEEL, the supply shed is for fucking, there is no actual fucking, we can have a little more MASH content as a treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24551818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stregatrek/pseuds/Stregatrek
Summary: Then something broke in me and I wanted to go home, to be where you areDonna comes to visit the 4077, again
Relationships: Donna Marie Parker/Charles Emerson Winchester III
Series: Wish That You Were Here [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1844095
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	And I Never Minded Being On My Own

**Author's Note:**

  * For [onekisstotakewithme](https://archiveofourown.org/users/onekisstotakewithme/gifts).



> Happy birthday friend!!

Hawkeye Pierce could generally be said to be a man who cared. He cared about people, specifically. Which should not be taken to mean that he was not above, occasionally, annoying the living daylights out of them. This was to be the case on the particular Tuesday on which he was officer of the day, sneaking looks at Potter’s mail and signing whichever papers Klinger deemed worthy of signature.  


“Here you go, sir,” Klinger held out another form, over Hawkeye’s feet, which were up on the desk. “Forms for the approval of a visit from the Red Cross.”  


“Only if they bring their nurses,” He takes the paper, setting his knitting needles on his chest. “Wait a minute, Klinger, there are names on here! Girl names!”  


“They do tend to have names, sir,” Klinger rolls his eyes, looking at BJ for help, but BJ is busy holding yarn for Hawkeye to knit with.  


BJ smiles. “You remember some of those, don’t you Hawk? One or two in the vast parade?”  


“Ha, ha,” Hawkeye gives the yarn a tug. “Keep good tension there, soldier,” He smirks at BJ, then kicks his feet off the desk alarmingly fast, waving the paper. “Oh boy, oh boy, we know this name!”  


“Old flame?”  


“Oh, yeah, but not of _mine _!” He’s grinning fiendishly, and it’s apparent from BJ’s answering expression that shenanigans will soon be afoot.  
__

__“If you’re talking about the Red Cross nurse I think you’re talking about,”  
_ _

__“Oh, boy, am I,” Hawkeye tugs the yarn. “Come on, squire, we have places to be,”  
_ _

__Klinger follows them as they practically scamper out, holding another clipboard. “But, sir, your officer of the day duties! Colonel Potter-”  
_ _

__“Colonel Potter will thank us for abandoning our posts, Klinger, we’re in the line of a much greater duty!”  
_ _

__“The greatest obligation we know,”  
_ _

__“Ruining Charles’ life,”  
_ _

__“A noble pursuit if there ever was one,”  
_ _

__Slamming the door of the Swamp open, Hawkeye’s knitting needles in his hand probably look more than a little threatening as he waves them for emphasis, BJ still attached to him by a train of yarn. “The prodigal wife returns!”  
_ _

__Charles narrows his eyes at them, reaching to turn up his record. “Another of your puerile magazine quizzes?”  
_ _

__“Nope, in the flesh, a Madame Donna Marie by name,” Hawkeye waves the paper around. “It says Winchester here, must be a filing mistake, huh?”  
_ _

__Charles is on his feet, practically climbing over Hawkeye to get the form out of his hand. “Give me that,”  
_ _

__“BJ, BJ,” Hawkeye passes it off, laughing. “What’s the date on there?” He holds Charles off, knitting needles like fencing foils.  
_ _

__BJ tosses his handfuls of yarn at Hawkeye and flattens out the paper against Klinger’s shoulder. “Says next Friday, save the date and keep your dance cards open,”  
_ _

__“You have to approve it first, sir, that’s the point of an approval form.” Klinger explains in a tone of exaggerated patience.  
_ _

__“If you will _give me that _, it will be signed faster than the favorite horse at derby season,”  
___ _

___“You’re feeling eager today, Charles, missing the missus?”  
_ _ _

___Charles grits his teeth, still halfway wrestling with Hawkeye, whose strategy is mostly based on wrapping the taller man in yarn. “She is _not _my- she’s my-”  
___ _ _

___“Elegantly put,” BJ laughs.  
_ _ _

___“What did you expect? He went to Hhhhhaaavad.” Hawkeye shoves a piece of string in Charles’ mouth, gangly arms flailing.  
_ _ _

___Reaching for the paper, Charles tries to hold Hawkeye at arm’s length with his other hand and gets yarn strung around both arms for his trouble. “For god’s sake, Pierce, I am not a craft basket, just let me _sign that _,” he spits the yarn out of his mouth angrily.  
___ _ _

___“Look, I don’t care who wants to be officer of the day, can one of you learned surgeons just sign these so I can get back to work? I got things to do besides watch you try to make a blanket out of the Major, you know.”  
_ _ _

___“We’ll call it the knitted Winchester, latest thing in fashion,”  
_ _ _

___“Sell like hotcakes in Boston,”  
_ _ _

___“If you _children _don’t mind,” Charles makes a strategic retreat, extricating himself from as much yarn as he can. “I would be more than willing to sign that for you, Klinger, and you can return to your duties. And _take _Pierce with you. The only peace in this godforsaken place comes when he’s as far away from me.”  
_____ _ _

___BJ takes pity, offering out the paper. “Alright, Charles, you can have the honor. But you have to share Donna when she gets here- that lady is a hoot,”  
_ _ _

___Charles makes an uncomfortable attempt at a laugh. “A ‘hoot’ is not exactly how I’d describe her, Hunnicutt, any more than one would call Botticelli’s Venus a nice picture.”  
_ _ _

___“Seen the picture, then, have you?” Hawkeye quips, and Charles flushes.  
_ _ _

___“He did bring back the stockings,”  
_ _ _

___“Didn’t know they had stockings at the birth of Venus.”  
_ _ _

___“Well of course they didn’t, Charles took them,”  
_ _ _

___Charles hands Klinger the paper, returning his pen to his breast pocket. “Please, Klinger, deliver me from these idiots.”  
_ _ _

___“I can only take Captain Pierce, sir, he’s the one on officer of the day,”  
_ _ _

___“Whither thou goest, I will go,” BJ says with a flourish, stooping to loop up an armful of yarn from the floor. “Lead on, Klinger, we’re a package deal, two for one Pierce-Hunnicutt, on special for the duration of the war,” and blessedly the train pulls away from the station, leaving Charles to collapse onto his bunk and go through the stages of anticipation and nerves connected with the idea of seeing Donna Marie Parker again.  
_ _ _

___The anticipation only grows as the days creep by, and the nerves aren’t lessened by Hawkeye’s incessant jokes. He catches himself thinking about her at the strangest moments, when he’s settling in to read the financial section or holding a piece of cardboard masquerading as toast. Donna occupies an almost mythical space in his mind, someone who cared for him without any idea of who he was, someone who cared for him while he was blasted out of his mind on sake punch, letting complete strangers draw smiley faces on his knees. He looks down at the heavy book in his hands, mind registering Tchaikovsky on his record player, and thinks to himself, _one man in his time plays many parts. _And she had liked both parts. Donna Marie Winchester. Parker. Donna Marie Parker. An angel of grace and mercy if there ever was one.  
___ _ _

___BJ seems to read the look on his face. “You miss your little lady?”  
_ _ _

___“Anybody is little next to him,” Pierce throws a rolled-up pair of socks at him, and Charles raises his book to deflect, the reflex of long habit.  
_ _ _

___“Hey, not me! I’m only an inch shorter,” BJ sits up straight, martini on his knee.  
_ _ _

___Hawkeye sips his own drink, smacking his lips. “But you’re no Red Cross nurse,”  
_ _ _

___“I resent that comment,”  
_ _ _

___Charles snaps his book shut. “ _Please _shut up,”  
___ _ _

___“No,”  
_ _ _

___“It’s my tent more than yours, you wanna read in the quiet? Fine, go sit with Igor in the kitchen,”  
_ _ _

___“Hrm! I think not,” Charles turns away, raising his book pointedly. Well, Donna will be here soon, and then there’ll be _intelligent _conversation, and beautiful eyes, and a bright smile-  
___ _ _

___BJ laughs. “It’s funny to see you love-struck,”  
_ _ _

___“As opposed to money-struck,”  
_ _ _

___“I don’t think that’s a word, Hawk,”  
_ _ _

___“It is now, I’ve just decided. I’ll write the dictionary folks tomorrow. Want your picture next to it, Charles?”  
_ _ _

___Major Winchester does not deign to reply.  
_ _ _

___Finally, finally, the day comes. Charles is so nervous he’s bouncing on his toes, standing in the dirt with his hands in his pockets. “Could you stop?” Hawkeye puts a hand on his shoulder. “She’s visiting, you’re not getting remarried. Nothing to be nervous about.”  
_ _ _

___With a strained laugh, Charles answers, “I am not _nervous _, Pierce,” but he holds himself still, until the jeep rolls into camp, Donna halfway out before it’s even stopped. “Donna!” He doesn’t register starting to move, but he’s hurrying toward her, so he must have.  
___ _ _

___“Chuck!” She throws her arms around his shoulders, and he picks her up, spinning with her. Oh, god, he’d nearly forgotten how her voice sounded, and it’s beautiful. “Chuck, it’s so good to see you! Did you get taller?”  
_ _ _

___He laughs, setting her down. “It’s simply that I’m not staggering drunk,”  
_ _ _

___She laughs back, taking a step away, her hands on his biceps as she looks up at him. “That could be it,” she says, and he is suddenly aware that his hands are resting on her waist, they’re standing so close that he can smell the way she brings Tokyo with her everywhere she goes, sweet cherry blossoms seeming ready to bloom around her.  
_ _ _

___They look at each other for a moment, Charles caught up in the sight of her, the heady scent of her, the way her hair catches the light and her smile seems to be the _source _of light, and Hawkeye shouts, “just kiss her already!”  
___ _ _

___Charles flushes red. “My dear, if you’d like to repair to somewhere slightly more private,”  
_ _ _

___“Just kiss me already,”  
_ _ _

___And she’s laughing, her hair may as well be a halo, she _shines _, his Donna Marie, and he bends to kiss her as softly as he can. Trying to say I missed you and thank god you’re here and you’re an angel. Her arms go back around his shoulders, and he’s pretty sure that this must be what people mean when they talk about Heaven, maybe he’s been too harsh on the Catholics if this is what they have coming- and Hawkeye wolf-whistles. He drops his hands from Donna’s waist, stepping back. “I- I’m glad to see you, Donna. Very glad.”  
___ _ _

___“I’m glad to see you too, Chuck.” She takes one of his hands in hers. “Come on, help me carry my bag.”  
_ _ _

___For her, he supposes, a Winchester can carry a bag. She packed light- just two nights, after all, more a stop-over before she heads to a new posting than a proper visit. “I wish you could stay longer,” he finds himself saying as they walk toward the VIP tent.  
_ _ _

___She squeezes his hand. “So do I, Chuck, but a little time is better than no time, huh?”  
_ _ _

___Momentarily silenced by the fondness he can hear in her voice, he has to satisfy himself with a nod, holding open the door to the VIP tent for her. Watching her, he thinks it would be ridiculous to say he loves her, when they’ve spent a grand total of perhaps sixty hours together, a non-zero portion of which he can’t remember for the life of him. Then, that too is ridiculous. “Donna-”  
_ _ _

___“Chuck?” She turns around to look at him, that blessed angelic smile on her face, and he’s going to say it, he is, but the loudspeaker crackles to life.  
_ _ _

___“Sorry folks, your Friday night lights just went out. Incoming wounded, blow those candles out and cork the wine.”  
_ _ _

___Charles can only tip his head back and bemoan the cruelty of the Universe, the war, and in particular the one Colonel who’s been trying desperately to prove himself, using his men’s blood to write the history of his own glory. “I cannot believe this is happening. You just arrived,”  
_ _ _

___“I hear time waits for no-one. Guess that’s true of war, too. Could you use an extra hand in the OR?”  
_ _ _

___He shudders. “Not yours, I had hoped, but in the interest of the greater good,” he wrinkles his nose at the words, and Donna laughs, giving him a gentle kiss.  
_ _ _

___“Come on, Dr. Winchester, show me where to help,”  
_ _ _

___“You are an _angel _, Donna Marie,”  
___ _ _

___She takes his hand, both of them hurrying toward OR. “More like the green fairy, to you,”  
_ _ _

___“More an angel to me than anyone, Donna,” He tells her, and she looks up at him with a soft expression, making him wish he could stop the sun in the sky, where it’s just barely peeking over the horizon. Stop the sun to give them all more time to defeat death, and to give himself just one more moment to look at her before they part, scrubbing in.  
_ _ _

___The OR is full, the casualties seemingly endless, and an unknowable amount of time later Charles has been on his feet too long. “Showing off for your date?” Pierce shoots at him, yawning as he returns to the field, hour-long nap hardly enough.  
_ _ _

___“This is hardly where I would bring a date. Clamp.”  
_ _ _

___“Are you saying I’m not your date?”  
_ _ _

___She’d been on triage, had a break, and now was assisting Hunnicutt, thank god- having her in OR at all is bad enough, having to look across the table and all the horrors on it to meet her eyes would have broken his heart a thousand times over the hours. “Please refrain from encouraging him, Donna, it’s like feeding a stray.”  
_ _ _

___Hawkeye barks, making Kellye laugh.  
_ _ _

___“We’re nearly through,” Potter says to the room at large. “Keep it together, folks.”  
_ _ _

___“Dear friends and dogs, the end is in sight,” BJ’s exhausted voice is flat. “Which is a good thing, because my sight’s just about at an end. Hawk, come take a look at this for me. More suction, there, nurse.”  
_ _ _

___When it is, at last, over, Charles almost falls asleep leaning against the sink as he washes his hands clean. “Come on,” BJ shoulders him gently. “Bedtime for you, show-off.”  
_ _ _

___Charles yawns. “No, I have to see Donna,”  
_ _ _

___“You can see Donna when you won’t pass out on her. You don’t want a repeat of the first time, do you?”  
_ _ _

___“I did _not _‘pass out’ on her,” Charles yawns again. “I don’t believe.”  
___ _ _

___BJ laughs. “Come on, go home,”  
_ _ _

___“Massachusetts?” It’s petty, but he refuses to hear this dirty purgatory called home.  
_ _ _

___“Well, I meant the tent, but if you feel like a swim,”  
_ _ _

___That makes Charles laugh, thinking about the Charles river and telling Donna the story, and he stumbles outside. “Donna,”  
_ _ _

___“Hi, Chuck,” she yawns. “I’m going to take a nap and then lend a hand in post-op. You look like you should sleep for a week. Can I walk you home?”  
_ _ _

___“Massachusetts? It’s an awfully long walk,”  
_ _ _

___She laughs. “Or swim. A little further than the Charles river.”  
_ _ _

___Just the fact that she remembers, that she cares- her mind went the same place his did, and he can’t help but smile, taking her hand in his. “I suppose the tent will do, for tonight. I wouldn’t want to get pneumonia again. Particularly not at a moment when I could be spending time with you,”  
_ _ _

___“Oh, Chuck, what a thing to say to a girl.” She’s teasing him, leaning on his shoulder, and they wander together toward the Swamp. “Can I come in? I’ll even read you a bedtime story if you want,”  
_ _ _

___He bends to kiss her forehead, then holds the door open. “A story will not be necessary, my dear, but I appreciate the offer.” She sits on Hawkeye’s bunk, yawning, and politely turns away when he unbuttons his shirt, laughing. “I feel like a teenager, looking away like this, when I pulled my stockings off and stuck them in your case the last time,”  
_ _ _

___“Why _did _you do that, I never asked,” Charles smiles.  
___ _ _

___She sneaks a glance at him, smirking, and he resists the urge to pull his collared shirt closed over his tshirt. “You said you were afraid I’d disappear, and I thought of Cinderella turning into a pumpkin, and then I told you I needed my shoes but you could have my stockings, and you said ‘acceptable,’” she imitates his accent, halfway slurring the word, and laughs again. “You make quite a handsome prince, Charles,” the glance she sends his way is less sneaky, this time, and he blushes, holding his collared shirt in his hands.  
_ _ _

___Not knowing exactly what to say to the compliment, he answers an earlier part of the story. “Well, I suppose that makes some amount of sense. Certainly more sense than I generally make when I’m that intoxicated.” He laughs at himself, just looking at her. It seems incredible, that she’s there. He’s exhausted, he knows, and he should sleep- but he wants to sit up with Donna, just look at her, enjoy the simple pleasure of existing in proximity with her.  
_ _ _

___“No rivers were swum this time, it’s true,”  
_ _ _

___But she looks like the Ganges, like she’s holy, and he thinks about bathing his soul in the waters of hers, wondering if he could ever feel purified, whole. “Donna,” he says, softly. “I love you.”  
_ _ _

___She’s surprised for a moment, and then her face softens, and a smile spreads, lighting the whole world with its holy glow. Never mind a burning bush, that smile was all the sign from the heavens the world could need, the only guiding light that could be asked. “I love you too, Chuck,” she stands and comes to kiss him, one hand on his chest as the other slides over his shoulder. “I missed you. Letters- aren’t the same.”  
_ _ _

___“No,” he agrees, voice quiet against her lips. “They’re not,” his heart is pounding under her hand, he knows she can feel it, and all he can hope is that his nerve doesn’t fail him. “I’m very glad you’re here,”  
_ _ _

___“So am I,” she says, and kisses him again. He was right, it’s like being cleansed. This kind of communion is better, he thinks, and his thumb strokes her hip, thinking of commissioning a bust in marble, pure white like the interior of the Boston Cathedral of the Holy Cross. “You’re thinking of something,” she murmurs, the hand around his shoulders moving into his hair.  
_ _ _

___He blushes. “I was thinking of you. Truly, my dear, love indeed is light from Heaven, a spark of that immortal fire with angels shared,”  
_ _ _

___“Byron?” She guesses, and he smiles. “You really do love me,”  
_ _ _

___Kissing her softly, he agrees. “Very much.”  
_ _ _

___“I’m glad, Chuck, I love you too.” She steps back. “And you really need some sleep.”  
_ _ _

___“I hadn’t intended to spend your visit asleep,” Charles sighs, letting her go.  
_ _ _

___Donna chuckles. “Well, best laid plans of mice and men and all that.” She puts her hands on his shoulders and pushes him down to the cot gently. He goes, trusting, and she smiles, then yawns. “Besides, the sooner you go to sleep, the sooner I can,” Donna laughs, and Charles looks up at her, enchanted, wondering if there’s anything he wouldn’t do to hear her laugh. “Take your boots off, Chuck,” she says, and he looks down, somewhat surprised to find himself still inhabiting a physical form after the Rapture of her kisses.  
_ _ _

___“Oh, yes, quite.” Habit makes quick work of it, and he pushes the blankets back, climbing in, telling himself that he’ll take his trousers off once she leaves and reaching for his mask to block out the light.  
_ _ _

___“Do you sleep in that?” Donna grins. “Put it on for me,”  
_ _ _

___He looks sideways at her and complies.  
_ _ _

___“Oh, god, that’s cute.” She laughs, and he pushes the mask back off so he can watch her face, chuckling along with her.  
_ _ _

___“Well, I’m glad you think so. It’s completely impossible to sleep without it, here,” He yawns, and Donna pulls the blanket up his chest further, bending to press a kiss to his forehead.  
_ _ _

___“Sleep well. I’ll still be here when you wake up.”  
_ _ _

___“Hm. I rather like how that sounds,” Charles yawns, his hand squeezing hers. Donna smiles to herself and slips out of the tent.  
_ _ _

___She naps for a few hours, heading to the mess tent for coffee before she goes to post-op to help out. Plenty of time to nap on the road, after all, provided she thinks of the potholes in the road like being rocked in a cradle. Post-op is a fairly lively scene, between Hawkeye, BJ, Donna, and Kellye. Most of the kids are awake, and Hawkeye is doing impressions. His Bogart is terrible, but his Gable isn’t bad. “Hey, Hawk, do me,” BJ calls from a bedside.  
_ _ _

___“With pleasure,” Hawkeye wags his eyebrows before he straightens his spine, affecting an easygoing smile and stroking a nonexistent moustache. “Boy I miss California, but that Hawkeye fellow is sure swell,”  
_ _ _

___BJ and Kellye laugh, making some of the soldiers laugh too. “Hey, doc, do that Major lady. She’s sure something,”  
_ _ _

___Before Hawkeye can start, Kellye has her hands on her hips, drawn up to her full height, impression of Margaret’s voice spot-on.  
_ _ _

___There’s general laughter when she finishes by shoving Hawkeye, who takes dramatic steps back and mimes fainting against a patient’s chart. “Do my doc, doc!” a boy with stitches across his chest calls, voice quiet but strong.  
_ _ _

___Donna holds up her hands. “Please, Hawkeye, allow me,” she tucks her chin, chest out, and puts her hands in her pockets. “Hhave you seen Boston in the spring, gentlemen? Incompahrable,”  
_ _ _

___BJ laughs as Hawkeye’s hyena cackle spreads contagiously through post-op. “Not bad for a woman who’s mostly seen him toasted or operating.”  
_ _ _

___“Keep your comments to yourself, Hhonnicutt,” Donna says, making Charles’ arch face at him, mouth pursed and eyebrows slightly raised, before she drops the mannerisms, laughing as herself. “Thanks, BJ, I practiced in front of a mirror,”  
_ _ _

___“You didn’t,”  
_ _ _

___“Oh, no, I did. It’s amazing he can get his mouth to move so normally, that accent coming out. I kept,” and she pulls a face, top lip curled back, nose wrinkling, and Hawkeye collapses onto a cot, banging his heels on the floor as he shrieks with laughter. It’s enough to lighten the mood in the whole room, and Donna catches BJ grinning to himself for the next few hours, before the shift ends and Potter takes over, accompanied by Margaret and Ginger.  
_ _ _

___The Colonel looks around the ward. “Anyone who needs to stay longer, Pierce?”  
_ _ _

___Hawkeye shakes his head. “Got off easy, this time. Everybody’s stable as can be.”  
_ _ _

___“Good,” Potter nods. “Get them ready to get moved out, we’re supposed to be getting another bad wave and we’ll need the beds. Somebody go get Winchester.”  
_ _ _

___Donna salutes and hops to it, easing the door to the Swamp open so she doesn’t wake Charles. His mouth is open, and he’s snoring slightly. She smiles.  
_ _ _

___Charles makes a halfhearted sound, and Donna can’t help smoothing her hand over his forehead, brushing away nonexistent stray hairs. She runs her fingers through the curls over his ear as he pulls off his sleep mask with a resentful groan. “Ah, cruel reality.”  
_ _ _

___“Oh, brave new world, that has such people in’t.” Donna tugs the blankets down, and Charles shudders. She smiles, leaning forward to kiss him softly. His right hand comes up to hold her face gently, thumb brushing her jaw.  
_ _ _

___“If only the world were full of people like you, my angel,”  
_ _ _

___Donna laughs. “How would you have found me, then? Just carried my stockings around looking for the me that remembered giving them to you?”  
_ _ _

___He flushes, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Do you have to remind me of that first thing in the morning?”  
_ _ _

___“If you’re going to make such adorable faces about it, I absolutely will. But it’s almost noon, Chuck, and it’s time to get everyone moved out of post-op.  
_ _ _

___He sighs, sitting up fully and swinging his legs off the cot. “Very well.”  
_ _ _

___Donna catches herself staring at his long legs, pale and shapelier than she’d expected. “Uh- I’ll leave you to shower. See you in post-op.”  
_ _ _

___“Yes, I daresay you will,” he yawns. “Thank you for coming to wake me,”  
_ _ _

___She smiles softly over her shoulder, pausing at the door. “Of course, Charles. I’m glad I’m here to do it.”  
_ _ _

___At dinner (or what might graciously be termed such), after post-op has been cleared out, Hawkeye sits next to BJ, who’s next to Margaret. Charles and Donna sit with Potter, across the table, everyone making vague noises of tired acknowledgement to one another.  
_ _ _

___“Hell of a turnaround,” Potter says gruffly. “I’d suggest you all get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow’s forecasted to be the same, if not worse.”  
_ _ _

___“I’m sorry I won’t be here to help,” Donna’s eyebrows draw together.  
_ _ _

___He waves a hand dismissively. “You have your schedule to keep. The war has its own. And the 4077 sits right. In. It.”  
_ _ _

___A collective sigh goes around the table. Hawkeye’s picking at his food, suspiciously sniffing every bite, and throws his fork down eventually, saying, “Hey, Donna Marie, does Chuckles know how good your impression of him is?”  
_ _ _

___Donna shoots a mischievous look at Charles and slips into it, squaring her shoulders and changing her hold on her utensils to imitate his. “Impressions are hahdly good table conversation, Pierce,” she gestures very slightly at him with her fork. “But then, my hhabitual dinner conversation is rather out of your league,” she draws out the vowels in ‘league’ and juts her jaw forward as she says it.  
_ _ _

___Hawkeye laughs, too loud, making people look over at their table, and Donna drops the mannerisms, smiling her own open smile at him, feeling Charles’ hand come to rest lightly at the small of her back. “It’s not that surprising, Hawkeye, I pay him close attention,”  
_ _ _

___“Oh, is that what you crazy kids are calling it nowadays?”  
_ _ _

___“Pierce,” Charles almost chokes on the water he was trying to drink in his haste to shut Hawkeye up. “How dare you-”  
_ _ _

___Hawkeye talks right over him. “So how about it, Chuckles, you got one of her?”  
_ _ _

___“I- It’s- rather blasphemous to imitate an angel,”  
_ _ _

___“What about with permission from the angel?” Donna smiles softly back at him.  
_ _ _

___“Well,” Charles draws the word out as he makes a valiant attempt to flatten his accent, which in itself has BJ chuckling into his mashed potatoes. “I guess,” he’s visibly trying to make himself shorter, and it’s not working. “I could make a habit out of marrying strange men at Tokyo parties,” his soft glance at her is a mirror of the one she gives him, whether as a testament to his imitation skills or simply from a reflection of feeling.  
_ _ _

___Donna tips her face up for a kiss, and Charles gives her one. “Spot on, Chuck.” She grins up at him. “But you forgot my winning smile.”  
_ _ _

___“I could never imitate your smile,” Charles says, touching her cheek lightly.  
_ _ _

___Donna turns her face into his hand, kissing his palm. “Don’t try. I like the one you have.”  
_ _ _

___Hawkeye jeers. “Ugh, god, get a room,”  
_ _ _

___“Your room is my room,”  
_ _ _

___“Get a supply shed,”  
_ _ _

___“Pierce, really,”  
_ _ _

___“Pierce, really,” Hawkeye imitates back, nasally.  
_ _ _

___Potter gestures at Donna with his knife. “Hers is better,”  
_ _ _

___“ _What _about the supply shed?” Margaret looks at Hawkeye sternly.  
___ _ _

___He coughs. “I don’t know anything about a supply shed. Never been there, myself. Supply shed? Do we have one of those?”  
_ _ _

___BJ laughs, Charles shoots a grateful look at Margaret, she smiles, and the conversation moves on. After dinner (or what might graciously be termed such), Donna and Charles walk slowly hand in hand out of the mess tent, no destination in mind.  
_ _ _

___“What do you want to do tonight, Chuck? Last night in camp.” Donna looks up at him, smile half fond and half sad. “I’m sorry the visit wasn’t more fun.”  
_ _ _

___Charles shakes his head. “Nonsense. It’s always lovely to see you, Donna, and even more so when I know I’ll remember it,” he laughs at himself, making her chuckle too.  
_ _ _

___“We could always go to that supply shed Pierce mentioned,”  
_ _ _

___Feeling his cheeks heat up, Charles puts his hands into his pockets, looking down at his feet before making himself meet Donna’s eyes. “I- if that’s what you- er- I’d prefer not to. Not that- not that it wouldn’t be- with you, but-”  
_ _ _

___“Spit it out, Chuck,” Donna says gently, resting her hand on his chest. “It’s alright. What is it about the supply shed?”  
_ _ _

___“The supply shed is for- well, my dear, Pierce was suggesting that we… do a horizontal Madison.”  
_ _ _

___“Oh,” her eyes widen. “Oh, I’m sorry, I had no idea- no, not the supply shed, then. How about- do you want to go to the Officer’s Club? I noticed you have a piano in there,”  
_ _ _

___“You-?”  
_ _ _

___Donna smiles, reaching up on her toes for a soft kiss. “Charles, you talk a big talk when you’re drunk. Saying you can’t keep your hands off your angel,” She smiles, and he blushes. “But when I took you back to my room- mostly to keep you out of trouble, mind, you were starting to look like you might try for Charles river round two with the koi pond- well, I got the idea that you might not like… the horizontal Madison, as it were.”  
_ _ _

___“Oh,” he looks cautious. “And you… don’t mind?”  
_ _ _

___She grins. “I don’t mind in the least, Chuck, there’s a long list of things I want to do with you, and none of them are supply shed activities. Well, almost none,” she gives him an appreciative look that makes him feel warm. “But I’d rather not, if you don’t want to.”  
_ _ _

___“Really?” Charles’ face would be funny, if it weren’t making Donna’s heart ache that he looks so shocked and so relieved, and she can’t laugh when she hurts for him. She puts her arms around him, hugging him tightly, trying to ease what they both must be feeling. “I would give almost anything to remember that night,” Charles sighs, resting his chin on her head. “Thank you,” he holds her to him, hands gentle. “Thank you for your- grace. My angel.”  
_ _ _

___“Any time, Chuck.” Turning her face to kiss his chest, she says, “you know, I can play piano. Do you like Mozart?”  
_ _ _

___His laugh is buried in her hair, and she loves the feeling of it. “I do.”  
_ _ _

___“Well, Officer’s Club it is. I hear they have drinks, too,”  
_ _ _

___“They do, and I’d be happy to buy you one, but I shall be abstaining tonight. I don’t want to run any risk of forgetting a moment more with you.”  
_ _ _

___The night in the Officer’s Club is wonderful, Donna can sing as well as play piano, and Charles just rests his face in his hand and stares at her, sitting beside her on the piano bench with his elbow on the wooden edge of the keyboard. “Walk me home?” Donna asks, an hour after they both started yawning.  
_ _ _

___“Of course, my dear,” Charles offers his elbow, gallantly, but she takes his hand instead and they walk into the cool night air.  
_ _ _

___Donna glances around. “Hey, Chuck, wanna race?”  
_ _ _

___“What, run?”  
_ _ _

___“Sure. Ready, set,” and she takes off, her hand pulling out of Charles’. He smiles and runs after her, longer legs letting him catch up, and they crash into the VIP tent, laughing in eachothers’ arms. “I win,” Donna grins up at him, arms around his waist as the door falls shut.  
_ _ _

___“I find myself with an angel in my arms. I doubt very much that there is any state of affairs which can be said to rival my situation.”  
_ _ _

___“You never did learn to give short compliments,”  
_ _ _

___“I haven’t had much opportunity to practice,” Charles says, bending down. “But I happen to know one tried and true method,”  
_ _ _

___Donna meets his lips eagerly, arms around his shoulders, pulling him close. “Will you stay tonight? I would love to wake up to the sight of you in that mask,”  
_ _ _

___Charles laughs. “You’re going to tease me about that forever. I seem to hand you more and more ammunition every time I see you.”  
_ _ _

___“Probably true,” Donna agrees. “But you look very cute in that mask. And, Charles, just to be clear- I’m not asking you for anything except the opportunity to sleep in your arms. In that tiny horrible army cot. Or, hell, on the ground. I’m just- I’m not sure when I’ll see you again.”  
_ _ _

___Pulling her close, Charles murmurs, “Thank you, Donna. My angel. I would- I would give you anything you asked for.”  
_ _ _

___“That’s a lot of power to give a lady, Charles,” Donna smiles. “I promise to be responsible with it.”  
_ _ _

___“Admirable, I’m sure,” he sounds amused, and he kisses her again.  
_ _ _

___She sees stars. “Can I shirk my responsibility just a little bit?”  
_ _ _

___He chuckles. “Of course you can, Donna Marie,”  
_ _ _

___“Can I ask you to sleep in your shorts? You have very nice legs.”  
_ _ _

___“I’m glad you think so,” Charles smiles down at her. “And as I told you, I would give you anything you asked for.”  
_ _ _

___Donna squeezes him. “I only want it if you want to give it to me. I’m not ever going to ask you for something you don’t want to give me, Charles,”  
_ _ _

___He’s silent for a long moment, looking at her wide-eyed. “I… I want to give you this.” He whispers, and she leans up to kiss him.  
_ _ _

___“Thank you, Chuck,”  
_ _ _

___“You’re welcome, Donna,” he kisses her forehead. “Though it seems strange to be thanked for undressing.”  
_ _ _

___“Well, I’m strange. You’ll get used to it.”  
_ _ _

___“I would like that very much,” he answers, and as she puts on her pyjamas he takes his uniform off, hanging it up carefully.  
_ _ _

___They curl together in the tiny army cot and talk, too late into the night, about everything and nothing at all, and Donna can hardly believe she’s there. He’s so warm, arms holding her tenderly against his chest, and the cot is much too small for two humans of above-average height, but they solve that problem by holding one another as close as possible.  
_ _ _

___“I love you,” Charles tells her as they begin to drift off, his voice sleep-heavy, and Donna smiles against his chest, her hands tightening on his hips. “My angel.”  
_ _ _

___“I love you too, Charles,” she whispers back. “My ridiculous man.”  
_ _ _

___“That’s not very nice, for an angel,” his voice is a quiet murmur, and she barely catches it.  
_ _ _

___Yawning, she replies, “Then take back calling me an angel,”  
_ _ _

___“No,”  
_ _ _

___“I love you,”  
_ _ _

___“I love you too,”  
_ _ _

___“Good night, Chuck,”  
_ _ _

___“Good night, Donna,” He squeezes her tight to him and falls asleep, unable to recall ever feeling happier.  
_ _ _

___In the morning, Donna finds that they’ve kicked off most of the covers, and have managed to tangle themselves in the rest. Her left leg is numb, and Charles drooled on the pillow. She smiles to see it, and laughs at herself. Ain’t love grand? “Wake up, Chuck. I want to have a shower before I leave.”  
_ _ _

___“You can’t leave,” he mutters his protest, hands wrapping around her waist. “You’ll take all the happiness with you if you go,”  
_ _ _

___“Oh, Charles,” Donna wriggles up to kiss him. “I’ll send it back to you, one letter every day. Sometimes twice if I’m thinking extra hard about the way you wrinkle your nose when you smile.”  
_ _ _

___“Mm,” his eyes open slowly, looking at her tenderly. “Do I?”  
_ _ _

___“You do,” she assures him. “It’s unfairly cute. Makes me want to kiss you every time.”  
_ _ _

___He tips her jaw down, kissing her softly, brushing his hand back through her hair. “I certainly wouldn’t object if you did.”  
_ _ _

___“Someday,” she promises, and he sighs. “Come on, Chuck, I need a shower.”  
_ _ _

___Standing up proves a challenge, extricating herself from the blankets, and Donna ends up slithering out of bed more than anything, making Charles laugh at her. “Very elegant, my angel,”  
_ _ _

___“Let’s see you do better,” she says. “Hold on, I’ll retie the bonds.”  
_ _ _

___“No, no, no need,” he swings his feet out of bed quickly, reaching up to flatten his hair with his hands. “Passable?”  
_ _ _

___“Your curls are sweet, Chuck. And yes, passable.” Donna wraps herself in her dressing-gown and Charles dresses quickly, tucking in his shirt. Donna smiles at him and pokes her head out of the tent first. “Coast is clear,”  
_ _ _

___Charles slips out, straightening his collar, and there’s an immediate whoop that is unmistakably Hawkeye, spying a la Flagg from god knew where. He rolls his eyes, looking skyward as though god had even considered helping him out thus far. The cosmic dice-player had given him Donna, and that was more than generous. “Come find me in the tent, after you shower?”  
_ _ _

___“I will,” Donna promises.  
_ _ _

___When she arrives, dressed and ready to go, she finds Charles writing a letter, BJ and Hawkeye throwing jibes across the tent, martinis in hand. “Donna! Woman of the hour,” BJ greets her. “You have to come back soon, I barely got a minute with you!”  
_ _ _

___“You had hours with me in OR and post-op, Hunnicutt, but I’ll come back as soon as I can.” She accepts a glass of gin from Hawkeye and sits. “What are you working on, Charles?”  
_ _ _

___“I’m writing you a letter,” he folds it and hands it to her. “For the trip.”  
_ _ _

___She smiles, putting it in her bag. “Thanks, Chuck, I appreciate it. Always nice to have reading material,”  
_ _ _

___“A love letter from Major Winchester- I envy the driver who gets to have a dramatic reading,” BJ grins over the rim of his glass.  
_ _ _

___“I’ll do the accent and everything,” Donna says, cheeky, and Charles rolls his eyes, reaching for her hand. “I’m kidding, love,”  
_ _ _

___Charles snorts. “I know.”  
_ _ _

___“Did you just get called _love _?”  
___ _ _

___“Turns out there really is someone out there for everyone,”  
_ _ _

___“I didn’t know it was possible to just make half a match in Heaven,”  
_ _ _

___BJ laughs, “well, even the devil was an angel once, guess we can’t rule out Chuckles.”  
_ _ _

___“You _live _with these two? All the time?” Donna raises her eyebrows at Charles. “I’m surprised you haven’t built up a higher tolerance, as often as they must drive you to drink.”  
___ _ _

___“Three bowls of sake punch is still enough to lay a man low,”  
_ _ _

___Donna reaches over to stroke Charles’ jaw lightly. “And lucky it did, or who can say whether we’d have met. I’d hate to think of having not noticed you,”  
_ _ _

___“You have to notice Charles, his ego has its own gravity,”  
_ _ _

___“Pierce, are you constitutionally incapable of letting me enjoy one nice thing?”  
_ _ _

___“Yes, it’s in my personal constitution, right under ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happy hour,’”  
_ _ _

___A jeep horn honks outside.  
_ _ _

___“I have to leave,” Donna says, standing and handing Hawkeye back the glass of gin she’s barely tasted. “I hope things are quiet, here,”  
_ _ _

___“‘Come what sorrow can, it cannot countervail the exchange of joy, that one short minute gives me in her sight.’” Charles kisses her forehead, holding her hands tight.  
_ _ _

___She smiles. “Shakespeare?”  
_ _ _

___“Romeo and Juliet,”  
_ _ _

___“Oh, I hope not. I like the ones with happy endings, myself.”  
_ _ _

___“Like the Taming of the Shrew?” Hawkeye laughs, hooking his thumb at Charles before putting his hand out to shake. “I’ll miss you, Donna Marie.”  
_ _ _

___“Me too,” BJ waits for his turn for a handshake. “Thanks for taking Charles off the market. Maybe his beautiful younger sisters can date now,” BJ gestures between himself and Hawkeye with a cheeky grin.  
_ _ _

___Charles rolls his eyes. “Cretins,”  
_ _ _

___“But we’re _your _cretins,”  
___ _ _

___Hawkeye follows them to the door of the swamp. “Consider us your tentmates-in-law, Donna, visit any time,”  
_ _ _

___Charles takes her hand as they leave the tent, squeezing tightly. “I can’t tell you what you mean to me, Donna,”  
_ _ _

___“It’s mutual, Charles,” she holds his hand just as tightly as they cross the dirt. “I’ll write,” Donna promises as he hands her into the jeep.  
_ _ _

___“And I shall write back,” he answers, kissing her hand before letting it go. “Donna- thank you.”  
_ _ _

___“Any time, Chuck. See you soon.” Her eyes hold his. It gets worse and worse to say goodbye. It was almost fun, in Tokyo, talking about seeing each other soon. Married, planning a honeymoon excursion. This is harder. Reality usually is, Donna supposes, but she wishes- she just wishes.  
_ _ _

___“I hope so, my dear.” He stands in the dirt, watching with his hands in his pockets as the Red Cross jeep pulls out of camp. Donna waves until they can’t see each other anymore.  
_ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> I promised a ficlet, I deliver 6000+ words, my inability to just STOP or ever plan strikes again.


End file.
